102 BIGGIE ORCHARD BOOK 



seedlings for one's own use. When buying nursery 

 trees for setting, choose medium - size, straight, low- 

 headed, two-year-olds. 



Soii^S. The ideal pear soil is a rather heavy clay- 

 loam, with a well-drained subsoil. Heavy clay does 

 very well if the underdrainage is sufficient. Light 

 or sandy soils are not so good for this fruit. 



VARIETIES WHICH ARE OFTEN SEI,F-STERII,E. 

 S. W. Fletcher, of the Cornell, N. Y., Experiment 

 Station, gives this list : ' ' Duchess ; Bartlett ; Clapp ; 

 Idaho; Kieffer ; Nelis." (Moral: Don't set solid, 

 large blocks of any one of these varieties, nor of 

 any other kind.) 



PRUNING. Cut back and thin out, moderately, 

 each season. Always cut back to a bud or a branch, 

 so as not to leave a stub. Pruning tools which are 

 used on blighted trees, should be disinfected before 

 being used again. The pear produces its fruit on 

 fruit spurs or wood several years old. 



SPECIAL CUI/TURAI, DIRECTIONS. Too much 

 cultivation is often dangerous to pear trees (see fire- 

 blight) . After a new t orchard has made a good growth 

 fearpf it is often advisable to seed down 

 land ^(pefiiiinfeiitly or temporarily) , so as to 

 jBtop ^xeessiyp wpoA growth. Likewise, it is usually 

 ^jrjideht/to slop cultivation earlier in the season than 

 is customary with other trees (this plan with an 

 early-sown cover-crop will often do away with the 

 necessity of seeding down the orchard). The same 

 caution extends to fertilizers. Too much nitrogen 

 means too much wood growth ; therefore use more 

 potash and phosphoric acid, and less stable manure. 



